The 1980 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 109th Open Championship, held from 17–20 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, Scotland. Tom Watson won his third Open Championship, four strokes ahead of runner-up Lee Trevino.[2][3] It was the fourth of Watson's eight major titles; he won two additional Opens in 1982 and 1983. It was Watson's first win in a major in three years.[4]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 17–20 July 1980 |
| Location | Gullane, Scotland |
| Course(s) | Muirfield |
| Tour(s) | European Tour PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 71[1] |
| Length | 6,926 yards (6,333 m)[1] |
| Field | 151 players 87 after 1st cut 65 after 2nd cut[1] |
| Cut | 149 (+7) (1st cut) 219 (+6) (2nd cut)[1] |
| Prize fund | £200,000 $480,000 |
| Winner's share | £25,000 $60,000 |
| Champion | |
 Tom Watson | |
| 271 (–13) | |
Trevino, 40, had won the last Open played at Muirfield in 1972, successfully defending his 1971 title and ending the grand slam bid of Jack Nicklaus.[5] Nicklaus, also 40, tied for fourth. He won at Muirfield in 1966 and was runner-up by a stroke in 1972.
This was the first Open scheduled to end on a Sunday, with a Thursday start. The Open previously began on Wednesday and ended on Saturday. Prior to 1966, the final two rounds were scheduled for Friday.
Past champions in the field
Made both cuts
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Watson |  United States |
1975, 1977 | 68 | 70 | 64 | 69 | 271 | –13 | 1 |
| Lee Trevino | United States |
1971, 1972 | 68 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 275 | –9 | 2 |
| Jack Nicklaus | United States |
1966, 1970, 1978 | 73 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 280 | –4 | T4 |
| Tom Weiskopf | United States |
1973 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 70 | 285 | +1 | T16 |
| Seve Ballesteros |  Spain |
1979 | 72 | 68 | 72 | 74 | 286 | +2 | T19 |
| Tony Jacklin |  England |
1969 | 72 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 290 | +6 | T32 |
| Bob Charles |  New Zealand |
1963 | 75 | 71 | 73 | 76 | 295 | +11 | T60 |
Missed the second cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Miller | United States |
1976 | 77 | 70 | 73 | 220 | +7 |
| Gary Player |  South Africa |
1959, 1968, 1974 | 77 | 71 | 72 | 220 | +7 |
Missed the first cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnold Palmer | United States |
1961, 1962 | 76 | 74 | 150 | +8 |
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, 17 July 1980
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Lee Trevino | United States |
68 | –3 |
| Tom Watson | United States
| |||
| T3 | Nick Faldo | England |
69 | –2 |
| Vicente Fernández |  Argentina
| |||
| Mark James | England
| |||
| Jack Newton |  Australia
| |||
| Glenn Ralph | England
| |||
| T8 | Ken Brown |  Scotland |
70 | –1 |
| Ben Crenshaw | United States
| |||
| Mark Hayes | United States
| |||
| Sandy Lyle | Scotland
| |||
| Gil Morgan | United States
|
Second round
Friday, 18 July 1980
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Trevino | United States |
68-67=135 | –7 |
| T2 | Ken Brown | Scotland |
70-68=138 | –4 |
| Jerry Pate | United States |
71-67=138 | ||
| Tom Watson | United States |
68-70=138 | ||
| T5 | Seve Ballesteros | Spain |
72-68=140 | –2 |
| Andy Bean | United States |
71-69=140 | ||
| Ben Crenshaw | United States |
70-70=140 | ||
| Gil Morgan | United States |
70-70=140 | ||
| Jack Newton | Australia |
69-71=140 | ||
| Jack Nicklaus | United States |
73-67=140 |
Amateurs: Sigel (+2), Rafferty (+9), McLean (+10), Mitchell (+10), Evans (+11), Gallagher (+12), Way (+12), Boxall (+13), McEvoy (+13), Deeble (+14), McCathie (+17), Hay (+19)
Third round
Saturday, 19 July 1980
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson | United States |
68-70-64=202 | –11 |
| T2 | Ken Brown | Scotland |
70-68-68=206 | –7 |
| Lee Trevino | United States |
68-67-71=206 | ||
| 4 | Ben Crenshaw | United States |
70-70-68=208 | –5 |
| T5 | Andy Bean | United States |
71-69-70=210 | –3 |
| Hubert Green | United States |
77-69-64=210 | ||
| T7 | Isao Aoki |  Japan |
74-74-63=211 | –2 |
| Sandy Lyle | Scotland |
70-71-70=211 | ||
| Carl Mason | England |
72-69-70=211 | ||
| Gil Morgan | United States |
70-70-71=211 | ||
| Jack Nicklaus | United States |
73-67-71=211 | ||
| Craig Stadler | United States |
72-70-69=211 |
Amateurs: Sigel (+5)
Final round
Sunday, 20 July 1980
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson | United States |
68-70-64-69=271 | –13 | 25,000 |
| 2 | Lee Trevino | United States |
68-67-71-69=275 | –9 | 17,500 |
| 3 | Ben Crenshaw | United States |
70-70-68-69=277 | –7 | 13,500 |
| T4 | Carl Mason | England |
72-69-70-69=280 | –4 | 9,250 |
| Jack Nicklaus | United States |
73-67-71-69=280 | |||
| T6 | Andy Bean | United States |
71-69-70-72=282 | –2 | 7,250 |
| Ken Brown | Scotland |
70-68-68-76=282 | |||
| Hubert Green | United States |
77-69-64-72=282 | |||
| Craig Stadler | United States |
72-70-69-71=282 | |||
| T10 | Gil Morgan | United States |
70-70-71-72=283 | –1 | 5,750 |
| Jack Newton | Australia |
69-71-73-70=283 |
References
- ^ a b c d "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. pp. 56, 203. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Watson wants the ones he hasn't won yet". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. 21 July 1980. p. 1C.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (28 July 1980). "Elementary at least for Watson". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.
- ^ "It's Watson in waltz to British Open title". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. 21 July 1980. p. 1-part 2.
- ^ "Watson earns emotional win at Muirfield". Palm Beach Post. wire services. 21 July 1980. p. B3.
- ^ "1980 Open Championship results". databasegolf.com. Retrieved 13 July 2012.